Page 293 of A Flame of the Phoenix

Marvellas eased off her mind a little more, and Faythe thought maybe she was considering Faythe’s proposition. Until her eyes hardened, narrowing on Faythe with renewed resentment.

“Lies can be so pretty,” she said, then she stabbed into Faythe’s mind with more force than before, so her barrier shattered completely, stunning Faythe into a state of complete stillness.

She didn’t feel anything. Not Marvellas’s intrusion nor the aches of her body. Faythe’s mental guard was stronger than anyone’s, and having her resistance broken sent her into a place of complete numbness, staring into the molten surface of the sun. She drowned in fire that did not burn.

“Mortal life is but a violent struggle. Generations trapped in this cycle of survival. This is how I will free humanity from the slavery of its own greed. I will break the cycle. I will break the world, and maybe your souls will have a better chance in a new one.”

The power holding her body up released, but Faythe didn’t feel her body crumple like a piece of the wreckage she lay within. The sun left her behind, leaving her staring into dull nothingness that coaxed her to close her eyes. Just to sleep for a little while. Until the sun might rise again.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE

Reylan

Reylan marched through the halls, irritated with himself that he’d been so focused on his duty he hadn’t noticed Faythe slipping out. The thought of any of them wandering alone right now made him antsy.

A phantom lashing of pain within pushed Reylan into a sprint.

He followed the instinctual trace of her through their bond, entering the library. The destruction he found surged his urgency. He yelled her name, darting frantically through the piles of books and broken cases to find her. She was here—he could feel her.

Reylan became frantic in his search, catching the scent of her blood.

Then he saw her. A beautiful devastation as she lay among wreckage.

He lifted her into his arms, but she was out cold. Still breathing steadily, to his relief. Reylan scanned around for whatshe could have battled to have caused this destruction, but he sensed nothing else here with them.

As he began to make his way out of the library with her to seek a healer, Faythe stirred.

“It was…” Her words were heavy, with her consciousness returning fleetingly. “We have to stop her.”

“Stop who?”

Her golden eyes fluttered open, lost in her recollection of what had happened. Fear struck him to see the emotions play out on her face.

“Marvellas is here,” she said with terror.

Reylan stiffened. “She left you?”

They’d believed Marvellas’s two main objectives when she came would be to secure Faythe and her ruin. So the fact she’d faced Faythe, fought her, and left her, riddled him with dread.

Faythe’s eyes cast up to him, and she tried to move but cried in pain.

“Keep still,” he said gently, holding her tighter and leaving the library.

He had to inform the others Marvellas was within their walls.

“She’s going for the Light Ruin. Reylan…she knows where it is from my thoughts, but we can’t let her get it. She has a plan far more detrimental than any of us thought.”

Faythe’s breath was labored, and her head fell back. Reylan’s concern raced faster. Her body had some cuts and bruises, no broken bones. She shouldn’t be in this much pain. Reylan had to stop, setting her down on the floor with her back to the wall. He kneeled, holding her head from falling, and scanned her face. Her eyes drifted to his, lazy and unfocused. A concussion? No—something more serious. Marvellas had broken through Faythe’s otherwise impenetrable mental walls, and she was suffering what would be like tenfold of a concussion.

They needed a healer—fast. And she would need rest.

“Stay with me, Phoenix,” he said, scooping her up again.

“I have to stop her.”

“The others will. You’ve done your part.”

“I let her get away…”

---